Foreword

Tēnā koutou and how wonderful to welcome spring.

Ka tū Te Wiki o te Reo Māori hei te 9-15 o Mahuru 2019. Māori Language Week will run from 9-15 September 2019.

'He mauri te reo Māori nō Aotearoa māu, mā tātou katoa' 'MAKE TE REO MĀORI AN ESSENTIAL PART OF NEW ZEALAND FOR YOU, FOR US ALL'

At Dunedin Libraries we support te reo Māori with events, resources such as the Taiehu Collection, and the use of te reo in our programmes and library signage. Several of our staff learn te reo through formal classes, through our weekly newsletter piece, or are members of the council wide Waiata group that has been going for many years. Informally some staff meet for lunch time practices, greet each other in te reo, and choose to use Māori greetings in their phone and email contact with customers. We have recently established a network of staff from the City and Community libraries to share our collective knowledge of te reo and mātauraka Māori with each other, support each other’s efforts and facilitate further training opportunities. These are small steps but contribute to making te reo Māori an essential part of New Zealand for you, for us all.